Deceased four-legged friends can be brought back to life in Spain for €55,000 — but only if cells were removed before death. More and more Spaniards are thinking about reuniting with their cloned four-legged friends.
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00:00They were inseparable, French bulldog Lola and her owner, 33-year-old Christian Morales from Spain.
00:10When Lola died, he had a sample of her DNA frozen, so that one day he could bring her back to life.
00:17I want to clone my dog Lola, because I feel like our story isn't really over.
00:24We had an accident a year ago. Lola broke her back and needed surgery.
00:30Then she got blood poisoning and ended up dying of pneumonia.
00:37Lola lived to the age of nine. Everything in Christian's apartment in Barcelona reminds him of his dog.
00:44She was like family to him.
00:49That's her food bowl. Her water bowl.
00:53She absolutely loved tennis balls. She would fetch every single one.
00:58What's left are memories. And Lola's ashes.
01:03Just after she died, Christian had her tissue sampled in order to one day create a clone.
01:09It would be like seeing Lola again. Like she were here again, physically.
01:15I know it wouldn't actually be Lola, but it's the same genes.
01:20It'd be like a daughter of Lola, that she never actually had, or a twin sister born in another time.
01:27In Marbella, in southern Spain, this lab at first had specialised in cloning top-dollar thoroughbreds.
01:34Now it's the first in Europe to add dogs and cats to its portfolio.
01:40They are almost identical copies. If the dog was curious, its clone will be too.
01:46If the original was shy, the clone will be too.
01:50Of course, it's a different animal, but genetically it's practically the same.
01:55So it'll behave in nearly the same ways.
02:00This Rottweiler is also meant to be cloned, and is getting her tissue sampled.
02:06For 2800 euros, the cloning procedure itself costs another 55,000 euros.
02:16Many clients hire us to clone their pets that are on the verge of dying, or have just died.
02:22And that helps them overcome their grief tremendously.
02:27If a client can afford to make a copy of their pet, they will.
02:33But does cloning a pet truly help owners grieve less?
02:38Psychologists like Andrés Martín don't think so.
02:45You can't get around mourning, or prolong your relationship with a pet.
02:50A clone is always just a biological copy.
02:54But you can't clone its consciousness and life story.
02:58Pain and feeling of loss will remain the same.
03:03But the demand for pet cloning remains high.
03:06Samples from hundreds of pets are being stored here.
03:09So far, 11 have been used to make a copy.
03:13The client calls, and we introduce ourselves, provide information, and explain what a clone actually is.
03:21We explain that it's not a replacement of the original pet.
03:25So we're not deceiving clients.
03:28Cristian has only paid to sample and store Lola's tissue.
03:33He's still unsure about actually cloning her.
03:36I think it's a lucrative business, and far too expensive.
03:41But maybe the price will drop over time.
03:44Then I'll reconsider.
03:46I've kept that option open for myself by preserving Lola's genes in the first place.
03:55That way, he could have more than just memories.
03:58And in the future?
04:03I always imagine having Lola again when I'm old and retired.
04:08That way, I could bring things full circle, and get to have my dog from my younger days back again.
04:17Cristian is spending 500 euros a year just to conserve Lola's genes.
04:23For him, getting Lola back is worth the price.